COLUMBUS — The Columbus High School volleyball team hosted St. Joseph High School Aug. 14 at the Marley Giddens Center in the Kecia Davis Memorial Volleyball Tournament and won in two sets by a final score of 27-25, 25-19. St. Joseph hung tough in the first set, then the Lady Cardinals settled in throughout the match and handled business in the second set to win comfortably. "I feel like this year's team, we got a lot of returners," said Columbus head volleyball coach Kayley Johns.
"They don't like how last year ended. They have big goals again.
I think we have good leadership. When we get down in games, they're staying composed and they're work - ing hard to keep each other up, keep each other positive to know we can still come back like we have in this game. It's good energy. Everybody has good energy. It's a really good environment right now. I love that and have a good feeling about that."
Senior Gracie Schobel came up with some big kills in the first and second sets to help propel her team to victory.
"I just feel like I have to step up right now in order to help my team,"
Schobel said on the responsibilities
of being a senior. "By being myself, it keeps my team energetic. I just
have to help everyone stay up by keeping myself up."
Columbus jumped out to a 4-1
lead in the first set on a couple kills and a couple mistakes from St. Jo seph. The Flyers battled back and scored five points in a row about midway through the set to take a 14-13 lead, then both teams went back and forth throughout the rest of the set as both teams traded kills in the final points to tie it at 25 before a kill by Harper Gerik and an ace by Mary Fitzgerald won Columbus the set 27-25.
The second set was back and forth again until the later parts of it when the Lady Cardinals scored
four consecutive points to take a 23- 18 lead. St. Joseph responded with a kill to put it at 23-19, which led to
Columbus answering with a point
and a game-winning ace from Gerik to win the set and match at 25-19.
